


Four Times

by moonmayhem



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Car Accidents, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Pining, another woman kinda gets in the way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:21:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26039362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonmayhem/pseuds/moonmayhem
Summary: Four instances reader/ofc should've taken the opportunity to tell Baron her feelings.
Relationships: Baron Corbin/Reader
Kudos: 4





	1. Four times I should've told him I loved him

_ \- The first time was a common occurrence. Not something I hadn’t found myself in the middle of before. -  _

“He’s very… different, that one.”

The girls in hair and makeup were packing up all of the equipment and gossiping about some of the superstars on the smackdown roster. Their current target was Baron Corbin.

“Different?” One of the newer girls guffawed. “He’s a piece of shit, honestly. Running around here like he’s better than everyone else.”

I scoffed at the words of my coworker, flipping through my magazine while trying to be as uninterested in their gossiping as I could manage.

“What? You got something you’d like to add?” Her voice was overconfident, much too big for her metaphorical britches like she was just itching for the chance to tear down someone who balked at her (very  _ wrong _ ) opinion of someone.

My friends in college used to tell me my glare could send chills down anybody’s spine, man, woman, or child, and if miss prissy’s sudden tense body and shifty gaze was anything to go by it still worked like a damn charm.

“You’re just upset he declined your drunk advances at a bar. Or…” I tapped my index finger against my bottom lip, pretending to look deep in thought before holding it up as I lightbulb had gone off. “Oh! Or was it because he had to lay his entire palm over your face so you wouldn’t force a kiss onto him?” I shrugged, shifting my gaze back to my magazine and thumbing through the pages. “I’ve lost count on the number of times he’s turned you down.”

There were a couple of snickers from the others, now all focused on zipping up their bags to leave trying not to listen to the protests their girl was now trying to make. Before long, they all filed out, leaving me and my small opened shear case to be the only ones in the hair and makeup department.

While I was reading a particularly  _ riveting _ article about a celebrity’s marriage in shambles, a large calloused hand enveloped my entire face and I jumped in my chair.

“Jesus,  _ Baron _ !” Dropping the magazine, I slapped his wrist and a deep chuckle came from him as he dropped his hand and plopped down in the chair in front of me. “The hell you do that for?”

“I get a kick outta seein’ you jump.”

I rolled my eyes and stood, grabbing the supplies I would need to trim his hair. “Let’s see how much of a kick you get out of me shaving your head, Corbin.”

Before I could even get my hands on his head he ducked and turned his body to glare at me, but it wasn’t full of malice.

“Don’t you  _ dare _ .”

I pulled him back into the chair with a huff. “Hush. I wouldn’t do anything like that. You’d look like an old man with this receding hairline of yours.”

Baron grumbled, arms folding over his chest to pout. “You hate me tonight, don’t you? You’ve got extra sass stored up inside of you.”

I hummed and went about snipping the dead ends off of his newly damp hair. The extra sass that was held up inside of me was accumulated from listening to the women gossip about him, all wondering what his deal was. Why he was so stoically quiet, and why he looked like he would  _ murder _ anyone that stood in his way. Most of the comments were harmless and inquisitive. A lot was directed at me since they all knew we interacted, but I remained as silent as I could. My words wouldn’t be worth a dime to these women. They’d ask for my input, I’d give it, and then it’d be thrown out the window if it wasn’t  _ gossip _ material. Bullshit, all of it. Then there was that girl who always wanted to sit on his di–

“Hello? You in there, smalls?” Baron’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I blinked a few times before answering.

“Mhmm, yeah, sorry. Thinking too much.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“You.” I stopped cutting his hair for a second and cleared my throat, “I mean, um, about you, but not _about_ you _._ Like you’re up there, rattling around in my head, but you aren’t the _only_ thing. Get it?”

“Uhh,” I could practically hear the smile in his voice, “yeah, yeah definitely, but how about you elaborate, just in case?”

A groan came out of me as I snipped the last bit of hair I deemed necessary before I combed it out again and decided I’d end the night by tying his hair into a braid.

“The ladies were gossiping again, ya know, their usual shit, but you were the topic of discussion this time around.” I saw his shoulders stiffen slightly before my fingertips brushed along the back of his neck and he slowly relaxed again. “Then that one new-ish girl who’s always wanting to hop into your bed was talkin’ shit, so your friend – hello, yes, that’s me – glared at her and shut her down quick.”

He scoffed, fingers absently pulling at the end of his braid when I tossed it over his shoulder. “What she say?”

I walked back to my case to tuck my tools away before coming to stand in front of him. “She’s bitter because you never give her the time of day, so she called you a piece of shit and said you walk around thinking you’re better than anyone else. Which is true, but I wasn’t about to let her get away with saying it.” I poked at his shoulder, showing him I was just teasing.

Baron caught my hand and stroked his thumb over my knuckles before meeting my eyes. “You’re great, you know that?”

I was trying hard to reign in a blush at the sudden tender gesture, but I did poorly when a nervous giggle stumbled out of me. “What are friends for?”

There was an odd shift in his expression when I said that, but it was too quick for me to pick up on what it was. He squeezed my hand once, then let it go when he stood.

“Thanks for the Elsa makeover, I’m sure I’ll be a hit at Disney world.” He teased and tugged at his braid.

“I hate you, we’re not friends.” I threw my case into my suitcase, quickly zipping it up so that I could stomp my way towards the exit doors.

Baron was full-on laughing now, grabbing his bags that he had brought within a hurry to catch up. “You love me! Don’t deny it!”

“Denied!” I yelled over my shoulder, “Heavily denied!”

–

_ \- The second time caught me off guard. -  _

Losing the money in the bank contract was like this ever-growing dark cloud of shit that hung over Baron’s head. Ever since he cashed in unsuccessfully he’s been losing his fucking matches, and not to mention his  _ mind _ .

Baron came out of nowhere, leaned up against the wall in front of my work chair, and asked a very random question.

“You wanna get drunk tonight?”

Renee hollered out a laugh while I worked on her hair, and I wasn’t too far behind if the amused, yet utterly confused look on my face was anything to go by.

“Something you need to drink to forget?”

He nodded curtly, “yeah, my fuckin’ career going down the god damn drain.”

“Aww,” Renee’s shoulders dropped when she looked up at Baron, “Don’t be so hard on yourself, big guy! They’re just trying to toss you around a bit, you’ll gain some traction soon, I’m sure of it!”

Baron rolled his eyes at her, but I could tell by the slight upturn of his lips that he appreciated the vote of confidence. When I finished with Renee’s hair, I squeezed her shoulders with a satisfied sigh, “Okay, gorgeous, you’re set!”

Renee hopped out of my chair and kissed my cheek. “Thanks, babe!” She turned on her heels to point at Baron, “Don’t you lose faith, dude! You’re an ass-kicker and you’ll be winning a title before you know it!”

My eyes followed her with a chuckle as she ran off down the hallway. When I went to turn my attention back to Baron he was in my space, arms crossed over his chest, and towering over me.

“You down or do I gotta strong-arm you into coming with me tonight?”

“Baron, I have work tomorrow.” I groaned, stepping away from his ginormous body. I could practically feel the heat radiating off of him and I would be lying if I said it didn’t entice me to lean further into him. “Besides, if we  _ did _ go out I would get drunk faster than you! There wouldn’t be a point in getting drunk if you’re having to take care of my intoxicated ass.”

“The  _ best part _ is taking care of your intoxicated ass.”

I turned slowly to look at him, eyebrow raised, and a familiar smirk evident on his face. I wasn’t sure how to process that. Did he mean it as a joke? Or did he  _ mean it _ , mean it? I don’t even think that makes sense.

“Are you making fun of me, Corbin, because I can hold my liquor. It’s just that you’re two times my size so I’m always the first one swimming in alcohol!!”

He took a couple of steps forward and wrapped his arm around my shoulders so he could tug me into his side.

“I’ll take care of ya, smalls! I just want the opportunity to drink with my best friend and let loose, is that too much to ask?”

I huffed, feeling whatever little fight that was in me sink into the floor and far away from me. “No, I suppose it isn’t.”

He raised his other fist in triumph, “Hah! Great! I’ll come to find you after the show tonight!” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and bounded off into the arena.

–

The time at the bar was enjoyable, apart from the fact that Baron had gotten significantly drunker than I had originally anticipated he would. Now, here I was with his tall, drunk ass in my bed with his head on my lap while I was only sporting a very tiny buzz.

“You’re funny, you know that?”

“I’m funny?” He asked, “because I’m drunk?”

I nodded, a large grin on my face as I pushed his hair out of his eyes. I was the one that ended up doing all of the drunk aftercare for my 6 foot tall giant of a best friend. Thankfully, I stopped drinking when I felt the pleasant buzz roll its way throughout my body, but Baron had kept going. He was going to drink until he forgot that his career wasn’t where he wanted it to be currently. I let him because A) he was an adult, and B) he deserved it.

“I ever tell you how beautiful you are?” That had caught me off guard. Baron was looking up at me, the rest of his limbs were spread out on the bed like a gangly starfish. His eyes looked so soft and genuine that it caused my heart to constrict in my chest. I didn’t know what to say.

“No, but I appreciate it,” I said quietly, my fingers continuing to comb through his hair as his eyes seemed to map out every single part of my face. “Drunk you is always super sweet.”

Baron sat up abruptly and looked me in the eyes. Both hands grabbed at the nape of my neck and he pulled me forward to press my forehead into his. I was startled, so I reached up to grip his wrists to center myself.

“Just cause ‘m drunk doesn’t mean it isn’t true.” Baron’s voice was quiet, and his hands drifted down to hold me at my waist, while mine shifted to rest on his shoulders, and both of us still kept our foreheads pressed together. “You’ve always been  _ so _ beautiful, ‘n smart, ‘n funny.”

His words, although innocent, were making me increasingly nervous. “You’re not so bad yourself, Corbin.” I tried to turn it into a joke, not sure it was the best idea to put any kind of hope into Baron Corbin’s drunken compliments.

Baron huffed and wrapped his right arm snuggly around my waist, pulled me into his lap, and then flopped onto his back in the bed. The hold he had on me made it to where my entire body was draped on top of his. Both arms now tightly secured around my waist to hold me close against him. A hand only left to yank up the blanket to cover the both of us.

“We’re gonna sleep like this. ‘m not gonna let you go back to your room.”

I scoffed, half-heartedly trying to wiggle out of his embrace. “And why’s that?”

“‘cause I gotta tell you how beautiful you are when ’m sober, smalls. Only way you’ll believe me.”

My heart was lodged in my throat now and it was making it increasingly hard to breathe. Or maybe that was because I was laying on top of my best friend that I had a ginormous crush on. (Yet, the feeling was much too big to only be a crush.) I felt the soft inhale and exhale of his chest grow steady and I knew he had fallen asleep.

The words were on the tip of my tongue then. If I said it, and he heard, I could pass it off as the alcohol playing tricks on his mind.

The words never made it passed my teeth.

–

_ \- The third time was worse, my stomach was in butterflies and I’m sure he could’ve asked me to marry him and I would’ve said yes. -  _

It was 8:23 am. It was too fucking early for someone to be knocking at my hotel door. I threw my covers over my head in hopes that whoever the hell it was would  _ disappear _ . I had gone to bed late the night before because sleep deprivation was a thing when you were thinking about how shit outta luck you were being in love with your best  _ fucking _ friend. Amazing.

The knocking continued and I threw the blankets back with a grunt, shuffled out of bed, and threw the door open. I was met with the said best friend. Said best friend had coffee in hand.  _ Coffee _ .

Baron took in my appearance, and at that moment I realized I was only in an oversized t-shirt that  _ just barely _ covered the goods. But, what can ya do? Wasn’t my fault he showed up at my door unannounced with  _ coffee _ .

“Get dressed, smalls. I brought you coffee and I’m dying for some breakfast, I’ll buy.”

Coffee  _ and _ breakfast? I swear to god he was about to make me cry.

“Did… oh my god, Baron are you trying to propose to me?”

He grimaced and quickly shoving the Starbucks into my hand. “I just got you coffee, calm down.”

To further the over-dramatization, I pressed my hand to my chest and gasped, “Didn’t you know that presenting me with coffee and the proposition of breakfast is a declaration of love and a promise of marriage?”

“I  _ actually _ hate you. You can forget about breakfast and give me back the coffee.”

Baron reached out to snatch it out of my hand, but I jumped out of his way just in time. “Nope! No takesies backsies!” I held the door open with my foot and motioned for him to come in. “Alright, big guy. I’ll change, you can make yourself at home. Watch Saturday morning cartoons or something while you wait for me to look less like a dead person.”

“I don’t watch —“

“Don’t lie, I know you like reruns of Dragon Ball Z.”

“Shut up, nobody asked you.” Baron all but threw himself on my bed before clicking on the television.

Right as I was rummaging through my suitcase, I heard the very recognizable theme song of Dragon Ball Z playing softly from the tv and I turned to look at Baron. Without even looking back at me, he took a sip of his coffee and said, “Not a word.”

I shook my head and proceeded to get ready. I didn’t want to keep him waiting long, and once I was finished he was still sitting in the bed, relaxed and watching the ending of the episode.

“I bet I could beat you in a DBZ trivia game.”

“I would watch what you say to me, smalls. It’d be a pity embarrassing you.”

The smile on his face as he watched the show was blinding. If I focused on it hard enough I’m sure I would find myself lost in the brightness of it, and him, and everything else he had to offer. I blinked away my thoughts and quickly turned back to rummaging through my suitcase.

I almost let the words slip.

–

_ \- The fourth time was the time I should’ve said it. Should’ve taken the opportunity while I had it, but I was too scared. -  _

“Shouldn’t you be the one doing this to me? I’m the guy who wrestles.”

Baron waited with his back turned to me as I stripped off my top and bra to lay down flat on the bed. “This is your apology for making me take care of your drunk ass last week, Corbin! I went wall climbing and I’m sore as shit, I don’t wanna hear any complaints.” He grumbled a few more times, shifting back and forth on his feet before turning around when I permitted him. I laid there for a bit, not hearing any sort of advancement from him before I turned my head to look over my shoulder and saw him standing there staring. “What’re you waiting for?”

That seemed to snap him out of his daze because he blinked rapidly before taking a large step forward and stumbled out an apology.

His hands smoothed down the expanse of my back when his knees settled on either side of my waist. Strong fingers pressed themselves into the tight muscles of my shoulders before he rolled them down the sides of my spin. I couldn’t help the soft breathy moan from leaving my lips when his thumbs dug into a particularly tight spot. Baron tensed slightly above me, hands-only stuttering in their movements for a second before returning to their smooth movement.

“You feelin’ okay?” He mumbled after a long while, voice a low rasp. “Not hurting you, right?”

I nodded as best I could and my hands moved further under the pillow that supported my head, my fingers tangled themselves up in the sheets underneath. “‘s good, promise.”

The comfortable silence stretched on between the two of us as he worked out all the kinks in my shoulders and back. I started to get so relaxed that my eyes grew heavy and I was ready to fall right to sleep, but right when I was about to I felt Baron stop again. Right before any words could come out of my mouth the ends of his hair tickled my skin, and then I felt his lips press gently between my shoulder blades.

“Sweetheart…” he mumbled against my skin, and I didn’t know what to do.

My chest was on fire and my heart was beating a mile a minute. He’d only ever called me ‘smalls,’ nothing sweet or  _ domestic _ sounding like ‘sweetheart.’ For a minute I thought he was going to tell me something important while his hands still just barely drifted over my back.

“Baron?” I breathed, and I felt him shift behind me, slowly pulling himself off of me and the bed with a soft sigh.

“The favor’s been repaid, smalls.”

“Y-yeah…” I cleared my throat and tucked a pillow under my chest to make sure I was covered before I sat up on my elbows. “You gonna go back to your room?”

He nodded, “Yeah, gonna let you get some sleep.”

Baron walked to the door and I sat up immediately, taking the pillow with me to keep pressed to my chest. “Baron — !” There was a flicker of what I dared to call desire in his eyes when I spoke, but to my luck, I opened my mouth and nothing came out. “I — … thank you.”

There was disappointment as his face fell. It wasn’t hard to miss as he gave a curt nod and a tight smile, then lifted his hand in a wave before he shut the door behind him.

–

_ \- And the time I was too late. - _

I hadn’t seen Baron since the night he gave me that massage. I felt bad. I should’ve said something. Should’ve told him that he could stay with me and we could figure out whatever the hell this feeling was that kept rearing its head. I mean,  _ I _ knew what it was, but I didn’t know if it was the same thing that he was feeling.  _ If _ he was feeling anything. I knew he was avoiding me, probably thinking he had crossed a boundary when he kissed my back.

Not to mention, Renee was mad at me. She threatened to stop being my friend and that she’d find someone else to do her hair if I didn’t tell Baron how I felt about him. She always saw it, I couldn’t get anything passed her,  _ ever _ . Told me my whole face would light up when he came into a room, “ _ like he was the sun _ ,” she said, “ _ that’s how bright and smiley you get.” _

Now, on the day of No Mercy, 20 minutes into the show, and after I was finally done with all of my work, I went to look for him. I wasn’t even sure if he had his match already or if it was later into the night. I asked around, only a handful of people had seen him recently, but I followed whatever trail I could to find him.

Finally, after nearly half an hour of searching one of the guys on the tech crew said he had seen him go down one of the halls that led to the locker room. Why I hadn’t thought of checking around the locker room first baffled me, but whatever, it was being checked now.

I could hear muffled voices down the hall, and I knew one of them was Baron. I could hear the deep coarseness of his voice as he kept it low. My heart was starting to pound like it usually did when Baron was involved, and I could feel myself getting excited. I could feel myself anticipating the reaction of me admitting that this stupid traitorous heart of mine was his for the keeping. Would he be happy? Would he laugh? Would he sweep me up in his arms and kiss me? I wanted to know so badly.

When I rounded the corner I finally saw him. I saw him pressing the girl that had called him a piece of shit weeks ago against the wall. I saw him bending down to harshly press his mouth onto hers, and I saw her wrap her arms around his neck as he did.

The smile on my face was gone. The pounding in my chest now echoed in my ears, I felt lightheaded. Nauseous. My hands felt for the concrete wall because I was unable to take my eyes off of them making out. I wanted to get out of there unnoticed, but of course, nothing goes how I want it to.

As I was backing up to escape, I accidentally hit a few boxes that made a noise. Baron broke apart from her to look up to see what he heard. He squinted for a second, and then his eyes grew wide with realization. I looked over at the girl and a smirk was painted on her face like she knew she had won something. Like she knew she had taken something important away from me.

I stuttered out an apology, then decided to quickly turn around and get the  _ fuck _ out of there.

I heard him calling my name, asking me to wait. Half of me expected him to follow me and explain to me that what I just saw was a figment of my imagination, but nothing like that happened. I didn’t turn around and I didn’t hear him even trying to come after me.

I grabbed my purse and thanked god they had given me the keys for my rental early so that I could leave whenever I wanted.

Maybe I was too caught up with making sure my stuff was packed and taken care of, but I hadn’t noticed that tears were creating tracks down my face until Renee grabbed me out of nowhere and began wiping my face with Kleenex.

“What’s wrong? Was Baron an asshole? Do I need to kick his ass?”

I shook my head and inhaled shakily. “No, nothing like that. I was just too late. He’s, uh, I saw him making out with someone else. That’s all the answer I need, Renee.”

Her brows knitted together in concern and she pulled me into a tight hug. “Aw, babe, I’m so sorry. I should’ve never pushed you.”

“It’s not your fault,” I sighed, “I should’ve told him when I had the chance.”

She held me at arm’s length and squeezed my shoulders. “Want me to call you a ride?” I shook my head and dangled my keys in my hand. “You sure you’re okay to drive?”

“I’m fine, I won’t devolve into road rage, promise. I’m just gonna go for a bit of a ride, clear my head.”

“Okay.” She kissed my cheek and squeezed me into a hug one more time. “Call me if you need anything.”

–

Telling Renee I would be okay and  _ actually _ being okay are two  _ very _ different things.

When I got into the car and pulled off into the road my mind started racing. I wanted to tell him that I would sacrifice sleep on Saturday mornings to watch reruns of Dragon Ball Z with him. I wanted to tell him that as long as he made me coffee in the mornings I would go wherever he wanted me to. I wanted to tell him that he could leave trails of kisses down my back and I would be eager to do the same. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him, and how I hoped he felt something too.

But here I was, stopped at a red light and sitting in this fucking rental with tears streaking down my face and my lower lol clamped tight between my teeth to keep it from quivering. I had never felt this way. This hurt, like my heart, had stopped beating and I’ve been kicked in the stomach, unable to catch my breath.

My phone started ringing, it was Baron, the familiar ringtone of his entrance music echoing in the cup holder where my phone was stashed. I refused to pick it up, I knew if I did he would hear how my voice would crack and he would know something was wrong. He would know that I couldn’t possibly want to only be his friend, and then everything would be ruined when it didn’t even have a chance to start.

I gripped the steering wheel tighter when the light turned green, and just prayed to whoever may have been listening that I would get through this as quickly as possible, even with tears still falling.

Maybe, If I hadn’t been so caught up in my thoughts and my stupid emotions, then  _ maybe _ I would’ve seen the car that had run the red light before it hit me.


	2. Four Times I told him I loved him

_ The first time I told him probably wasn’t the most ideal, but I did it anyway. _

My eyes fluttered open to see stark white walls and fluorescent lights that burned my tired eyes. I blinked a few more times, letting them adjust to the blurry figures in the room around me. I realized I was hooked up to machines by the stiffness in my arms. My memory of when or even how I got here was fuzzy, I opened my mouth to speak, but all that came out was a gravelly croak.

My entire body thrummed with a dull ache and I muttered a coarse expletive as I shifted in the bed. There were no windows in the room, only machines, and a curtain, so I wasn’t even sure which part of the hospital I was in. I sat there, my mind was slightly confused as to how the hell I got here.

I remembered that there was an accident, that the car that hit me was a white SUV. I remember the image of one or more of my windows had shattered, sparkles of glass raining in front of my eyes. I knew that at the moment I couldn’t move, too afraid I’d die if there was any sort of fatal wound. I knew that when I saw the officers and the paramedics arrive on the scene I passed out in relief.

A doctor swept aside a portion of the curtain and gave me a large smile. “Oh! I’m happy to see you awake.” She turned around to address someone behind her. My vision of the stranger was obstructed by the curtain, the doctor the only one visible by the sliver of space. Once she was done, she ducked back through the curtain and pulled it closed behind her, a small plastic cup of water now in hand. “I’m Doctor Jacobson, how’re you feeling?”

Now, wasn’t that a question. I quickly swallowed down the cool liquid, enjoying the hydration it coated my throat in. “I ache,” I managed to say after I finished, “my memory’s a bit hazy, but I know what happened.”

She hummed, looking through my file before stepping forward to flash a light into my eyes. Stereotypical, but I knew that being concussed would be a very real possibility, I’m pretty sure my head hit the steering wheel at one point… or maybe it was the window. Maybe she was just checking to see how I was progressing.

“You’re very lucky.” she said as she tucked away her light, “The EMT’s said that the accident looked brutal, but your injuries didn’t reflect that. Although, you do have a Grade 3 concussion. You lost consciousness and there is a possibility of memory loss, whether from pre-injury or post. I want you to look out for that, I’m sure your friend will help you with that once you’re released, but we need to run some further tests to make sure there isn’t anything we missed.”

My head nodded, almost on auto-pilot, but stopped abruptly when my brain caught up with her words. I didn’t know what she meant by a friend? Had Renee tracked me down after I hadn’t returned from my drive?

“Who – um, what friend?”

“Your emergency contact, he’s been waiting since he got the call about your accident.”

Dr. Jacobson walked over to the curtain-like she was going to give a large reveal as to who it was, but I already knew. A part of me had hoped it was Renee so I didn’t have to face the music so suddenly. If it wasn’t such a crude joke mere – what I assumed to be – hours after the accident I would say that him coming in here would blindside me for the second time today. I knew who I had down as my emergency contact and I wasn’t ready to have my heart pound against my still sore chest.

When she inevitably did pull away the curtain Baron was there, leaning up against the nearest wall, a bag that looked like mine over his shoulder, and a tired, cold expression on his face. I adverted my eyes, suddenly finding the drab sheets of the hospital bed interesting and new.

“I’ll leave you two to it. I’ll be back later, Mr. Corbin.”

He mumbled out his thanks and I could hear his footsteps move closer to the bed before he gingerly sat in the chair next to the bed and placed the bag down as well. I remained silent, not once looking at him in fear that I would cry or that he would be angry at me. I didn’t want to face it; I couldn’t bear it.

“Smalls…” he whispered, and I squeezed my eyes shut because for some reason I thought that the harder I did it the less I would hear what he had to say. “Sweetheart, please look at me?”

The way his voice pleaded with me sounded broken and a part of me hated that I was the one that made him sound like that, no matter the reason. I placed him in this moment of pain and that’s what I was upset about. I did this to him, and what did that say about how far gone I was on him? Me, in a goddamn hospital bed, a dramatic kiss on the cheek from death, and I was worried about how  _ he _ felt. My eyes itched and burned even as they were closed, and I knew that when I opened them my feelings would show.

All the same, I acquiesced to his request and when I looked up at him the itching and burning ceased. Tears that prickled at my lids were now given access to flow freely. “’m sorry, Baron.”

His eyes widened and when he inhaled next it was shaky and wet, then he reached out to squeeze my hand tight. “I thought I fuckin’ lost you.” His words sounded like they were constricted in his throat and I clutched his hand back. “I was trying t’ get ahold of you and you weren’t answering. I just thought you were mad at me being a hypocrite, kissin’ that girl you don’t like very much.”

_ I was! You gargantuan idiot. _ The words yelled in my head, but I lacked the sharpness to say them at that moment. Selfishly, I wanted to hear how he reacted when he got the call.

“After the show ended, Renee came to me saying you never came back and I started panicking. Askin’ if anyone had heard from you or saw you. Then I got the call and it felt like the floor had fallen out from under me. I think I pissed the guy on the phone off, threatening his life and all that because he couldn’t give me shit on if you were okay or not.”

Baron looked around at the machines and the wires that connected them to me. He then gently laid his forehead on the back of my hand and inhaled deeply. I let the silence between us stretch on for a few minutes while I stared at the top of his beanie and the tense muscles of his back that were noticeable through his shirt.

He was all tight, rigid muscle. Worry set deeply inside the fibers. This man, this tall, insufferable man cared so deeply about me, his _best_ _friend_. I didn’t know what time it was, didn’t even know how long he waited before the doctor’s allowed him to see me.

Baron looked up briefly, eyes slightly red and watery at the corners. “Why’re you smiling like that?”

I hadn’t realized I was smiling, but when he pointed it out I felt it grow wider. “I gotta tell you something, but I don’t want you to give me a response until I’m discharged from this hospital and cleared to travel with you guys again. Got it?”

“Smalls, what — ?”

“Got it, Corbin?”

His eyes looked back and forth at mine before he nodded once and I tightened my hold on his hand.

“I love you.” I breathed, and it felt like the words took my heart with them as they fell out of my mouth. “I’ve loved you for a long time now and there were a few times I almost told you, but I never had enough courage.” Baron sat there, mouth hanging slightly open and his eyes not blinking. It just made me smile more. “I guess a brush with death was what I needed to finally tell you.”

“Don’t say that.” Baron suddenly snapped to attention and his brows furrowed. “Don’t ever say that.”

I hummed and shrugged my shoulders, then pulled his hand up to press a soft kiss to his knuckles. “Just thought I’d let you know.”

“Can I say anything?”

”No.”

“Not even a small thing?”

“Nope.”

“You’re killin’ me, smalls.”

_ The second time felt normal,  _ **_domestic_ ** _ if you will. _

“Baron, you don’t have to insist on driving me everywhere while you’re home.” I huffed and snapped my seatbelt in place while I stared at him in the driver’s seat.

“Shut up, you’re a fragile little gremlin. Someone’s gotta take care of you while you recover.” The wink he threw my way made my stomach flip and I wanted to squeeze my stomach between my fingers until it popped, unable to make me feel what he was doing to me so blatantly.

“Gremlin?!” He was much too proud of himself with the insult, sporting a lopsided grin while he threw the car into drive and took off down the road. “You’re so mean,” I grumbled, “I can’t help that you’re the fucking jolly green giant.”

Golly green giant of tall, dark, and attractive. I hated him. In his stupid backward baseball cap, his Black Craft tank top, and his under armor shorts.  _ Hate _ . Pink, bubbly hate that looked like hearts in my eyes.

I was snapped out of my pink hazed hate when Baron snorted, “Yeah, okay, enough with the insults. I’m drivin’ you around because it’s only been a week and a half since you were discharged and flown back home, you’re still in recovery mode.”

I rolled my eyes and looked straight ahead at the road in front of us. “Mhmm, well you better be taking me to get food or something.”

Doctor Jacobson said it’d take at least a month of recovery to get me back at 100%. Some symptoms can fluctuate in intensity, which was  _ great _ . No telling when those symptoms could come into play.

Baron glanced at me for a second before he reached over the center console and squeezed my neck, his fingers were warm and just the slightest bit rough. “I like you with a full stomach and caffeine in ya.”

“You afraid I’m gonna bite your head off if I’m not properly fed?”

“Literally or metaphorically?”

Jokes. The man had jokes. “Har-Har-Har, Baron  _ fuckin’  _ Corbin. I’m not some alien clown that gets off on kids’ fear.”

“You know,” he started, adjusting his hat with the hand that had just touched my neck, “we should go see  _ IT _ together.”

My head snapped towards him like I had been burned by the mere  _ suggestion _ of seeing that movie. “Baron, are you  _ trying _ to tear this friendship apart?”

“The drama! Come on, he’s a stupid clown. Nothing to be scared of.”

“Says the 6’6” man who got biceps the size of my head! You’d just beat the shit out of him if he came near you!!” I was exasperated by the thought of some demonic, alien, sewer clown coming up from some nasty ass rain gutter just to eat off my limbs. He’d probably take a leg first, I had nice legs and that’d be my fucking luck.

“You think I wouldn’t beat his ass if he came near you?” Baron was glancing over at me, the same smirk from earlier still evident on his face. He was having way too much fun at my expense.

I shrugged, “you like watching me squirm.”

“Yeah, I do.” He patted my thigh briefly and I felt the jolt go up my spine. “You become a spider monkey and latch onto me whenever you get scared, it’s funny.”

He wasn’t wrong. I did always latch onto him when scary things were looming, but that was only part of the reason why I did.

“Better be careful,” I sang.

Baron glanced over at me to catch what I meant before looking back at the road. “What’d ya mean?”

“I may just climb into your lap in the middle of the movie theater.” I waited for him to respond, and when he didn’t I leaned a bit over the center console before I continued. “You know my secret now, I don’t have to latch onto you pretending to be afraid. I can just kiss you because I want to.”

I saw him try to subtly look at me through his peripheral, taking in how close I had moved in towards him. He kept clearing his throat and adjusting his hands on the steering wheel, completely unsure where to take the conversation.

“Well, um, I…”

I barked out a loud, quick laugh then playfully hit his shoulder. “I’m just fucking with you, Corbin!”

He visibly relaxed in the seat, exhaling a little heavier with what I assumed was relief as we pulled into a food spot we frequented.

When he turned off the car he looked over at me with a small smile. “You ready?”

I nodded, leaned in to press a kiss on his cheek, and said, “I love you, ya big goof.” Then I hopped out of his car quickly and left him there frozen in place.

_ The third time wasn’t planned. It came out on reflex and I think it further solidified to Baron how I felt. _

About 4 weeks into my recovery, I was just on the cusp of being able to take on the physical and mental stress of traveling with the roster again. I was only really able to see Baron in person on the weekends when he was home, which was fine because it was good that I wasn’t in his space as often as I was before. Especially with the very  _ heavy _ feeling I regurgitated onto him and asked him to stew in.

He had just gotten back home the night before, but he stopped by my apartment to pick me up and take me to the performance center to watch him train. Because that’s what I wanted to do on a Friday, watch him practice some moves in the ring, do some squats in the gym and get all sweaty… on second thought, I’m good with it.

But, today was starting to turn into a really bad day for me. After the accident, Dr. Jacobson said I could get bad migraines, mood swings, sleep problems… there were so many things that could happen, and now, an hour and a half into his workout a sudden migraine was becoming a real big wrench in my plans to ogle at Baron.

“Smalls, why the hell are you over there looking constipated?”

Baron had stopped mid-workout in the gym and was staring at me with his hands loosely on his hips. If my head didn’t feel like someone was drilling into it I would appreciate the way his hair was tied up at the base of his neck. Or the way his shoulders, neck, and face glistened with beads of sweat. I was only a bit disappointed through my pain-induced haze with his lack of shirtless-ness.

My fingers pressed against my frown lines and the wrinkles between my browns, trying to smooth them out. “Sorry, I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Saying that I was fine wasn’t the best choice of words. Baron immediately walked over to me and crouched down in front of the corner I occupied nearest him. Concern was written in stitches all over his features.

“What’s going on?” He mumbled and placed his hand on my knee.

“‘m fine, Baron —“

“Bullshit, you look like something hurts, now spill.”

I grumbled words that made no sense and looked directly into his eyes, taking in the words they spoke silently, dripping in what looked like uneasiness.

“It’s my head. Just a migraine, I’ll be alright. You just go back to your workout.”

Baron didn’t listen, instead, he pushed on with the questions. “You ate before I picked you up today, right?” I nodded. “You got your meds with you?” I shook my head. “Alright, give me about 5 minutes to change and I’ll get you home, okay?”

He stood up to head over to the locker room and I tried to call after him. “Baron, I —“

“Nah, don’t even try it. You come first, smalls!”

With no more argument to be had, Baron disappeared out of the gym and I was left there with a loud, pounding head and an equally as loud heart.

Baron had taken me back to my apartment and opted to stay with me for a bit longer just to make sure my migraine didn’t cause me too much trouble.

We were sitting on the couch together, watching reruns of Dragon Ball Z — a collaborated decision — and it should’ve been fun. I should’ve been happy with him being here with me, taking care of me and making sure I got everything I needed. But, along with the migraine, my head was getting twisted up with words and unwanted images of what I could remember in whole from the accident. How easy it would’ve been when I passed out if I hadn’t woken back up. How easy it would’ve been if I disappeared. I was spiraling, and spiraling quickly.

I realized that my tears were coming rapidly, and my head was telling me to herd Baron out my door so he wouldn’t see me so fucked up and completely out of my mind, but every other part was pleading for him to stay.

“It’s fucked up,” I sniffled randomly, “and I know it’s probably a real inconvenience to you, but would you be cool with staying the night?” Baron looked at me as if I asked him to give up his firstborn son, eyes wide and anxious. I didn’t know what to do so I just kept pushing forward with my words that felt too big for my mouth. “I’m just — I can’t think straight, Corb. I know it’s just a mood swing, the post-shit from the concussion, but my head’s in a fucked up place right now for no reason. I’m worried none of these stupid symptoms will go away and I’ll be stuck wondering about what if I did die in that accident, and if I never--,”

Baron reached over to my side of the couch quickly and bodily hulled me into his lap. He wrapped his arms around me tight to hold me close to his chest, absently pressing kisses into my hair as I cried loudly into his shirt.

“Please don’t say that.” He breathed softly, “I don’t… I don’t ever want to think about how life would be without you here with me. You’re a very large part of my life, sweetheart. Not sure I’d ever be the same again if you were gone, so please don’t talk like that.”

Baron held me like that for a long while until my tears and breathing devolved into quiet hiccups. When I finally settled, I slowly leaned my head up to press a kiss to the hollow of his throat. “Sorry,” I whispered sleepily, the exertion of all of my emotions quickly taking over “‘love you.”

He hummed and his hand gently pressed my head down onto his shoulder and pressed one last kiss onto my forehead before the heaviness of my eyes won, and I fell asleep right there in his lap.

_ The fourth time… the fourth time I was caught off guard. _

I’d recovered enough to be able to return to work. By returning to work it meant I’d finally see Renee after nearly a month and a half of being away. I’d be able to see all the other superstars and crew that I’d missed. It also meant that if Baron wanted to give me an answer for all the times I told him that I loved him, he could. He could return the sentiments or just as easily turn me down, then I would have to live with that decision and understand without issue. Maybe he’d shoot me a text so I wouldn’t have to face him, that’d be cool and not anxiety-inducing at all.

It was early in the afternoon, around 4 pm when I finally had my station set up in preparation for the show. I must’ve been lucky because the first person that came around to get their hair trimmed and fixed up was Renee.

“Babe! Oh, god, I’m so glad you’re back and okay. Did you get the gift baskets I sent you?” Her hands were drifting all over my arms, neck, and head like she was checking for month old injuries.

“I did, I did! I also got your drunken voicemail three nights after my accident apologizing and crying about how you shouldn’t have let me leave upset.”

“Hey! You can’t blame me, okay? I was the last person to see you go.”

I pulled her in for another hug before directing her into my chair for a trim. “Yeah, mhmm, and yet you weren’t the person who ran the red light and hit me. So none of it was your fault.”

“Whatever, I still feel bad.”

As I went to work on her hair we caught up with the happenings backstage and all the gossip that I’d missed. Baron was never too keen on the secrets backstage, so I couldn’t ask him what was going on because he would always just say, _ “crew work, I guess.”  _ Like that was the only shit going down.

“You’ve heard anything about Baron and uh, ya know…”

“The girl that had he tongue in his mouth? I’ve been dreading the new intel, why?”

Renee groaned, “Just don’t give me a pixie cut because I’ve given you this shit show of news.” I simply grunted, waiting for her to continue. “Since you were gone she’s had free reign of Baron. There’s just been a lot of whispers about the two of them. I don’t know what’s true.”

“It’s okay, I’ll… I’ll get over it.” Renee tried to whip around in her chair to look at me, but I planted my hands on her shoulder, urging her not to move.

“What the hell do you mean you’ll  _ get over it _ ?! Stake your claim! She’s invading!”

When I did walk around the chair to look at her, she looked wild and agitated, so I leaned down a bit to speak quietly to her. “I already told him that I love him. A few times, actually, I just told him he couldn’t give me an answer until I’m healthy and back at work.” I stood back up and put down the scissors so I could finish styling her hair. “I’m the one playing the waiting game now, but if he doesn’t reciprocate I don’t have a choice but to let it go.”

“I don’t know whether to hug you or strangle you.”

I stood up and opened my arms. “Hug me or you’re gonna have to wear extensions for a long time when I’m done with you.”

Renee gasped dramatically and laughed right after. “I’m so glad you and your snark are back.”

She stood up to hug me and I smiled when we pulled away, but right immediately after my smile dropped at a sight similar to what we had just been discussing. Renee turned around to see what had caused my shift in reaction and her face matched my own.

I hadn’t noticed that Baron was sitting in a chair that was close enough behind us for him to eavesdrop on our conversation. For a second, I was mortified but quickly realized that anything I said wasn’t something he hadn’t heard before. What twisting my stomach into knots was instead the blonde from before with her hands on the armrests, caging him into his seat.

Renee and I were both frozen in place, staring at them and listening to what was about to transpire.

“Come on, Baron. Take me out tonight, I know you won’t regret the results.” Her last words were sultry as she grazed her fingertips over his neck.

Baron grabbed her hand and held it away from him. “I’m not taking you out. I told you before that kissing you was just to get you off my fucking back.”

“Hah, sure, okay. Whatever you say, Baron, you wanted to kiss me that night. You just don’t wanna take responsibility for sending your little friend off the edge.”

I visibly recoiled at her words and Renee took hold of my hand, neither one of us taking our eyes off the scene.

Baron stood up abruptly from his seat, easily towering over the girl as he stared down at her with a scorching fire in his features. “If I ever hear you talk about her again, and if you don’t leave me alone, I’ll make sure you’ll have to explain that you got fired from WWE for harassment in every fucking interview you have from here on out.”

He tossed her hand aside harshly and walked the short distance over to us. Baron’s expression quickly softened when he reached Renee and me.

“Baron, I hope you don’t blame yourself for the accident,” I mumbled, my face evident in the worry I felt for him probably baring guilt just like Renee.

“Don’t worry about that. You think you’re up for hitting a diner later tonight? Wanna celebrate your first show back to work.”

I nodded, “Yeah, sure.”

“Good. I’ll swing back around here after you finish your work.” He nodded his head in acknowledgment to Renee before walking passed us to go about his own business.

“Jesus Christ, he’s like a damn children’s book.”

I blinked a few times before looking over at Renee. “Huh?”

“He’s easy to read, I mean.”

“How?”

Renee only laughed and patted my shoulder. “God, you’re cutely oblivious.”

It was around midnight when we got to a random diner that Baron had found when he googled ‘ _ places to eat _ .’ I was half expecting it to be an IHOP or a Denny’s, I don’t know, something basic, but not a legitimate diner. It was a pleasant surprise.

“Ew,” I looked at Baron in mock disgust when he slid into the seat next to me, “you never sit next to me in a booth, what are you doing?”

He ignored me long enough to order both of us coffee, which I was thankful for, but the unimpressed expression he leveled me when the waitress left was next level. “I have long legs and I wanna prop them up on the other side of the booth without you fuckin’ with my leg hair like you always do, that a problem?”

I grimaced at him a bit longer then looked down at his thighs where his shorts rode up as he settled his feet.

“Not a problem.” Then, like the little shit that I was, proceeded to reach out and tug at the hair on his thigh.

“Hey!” He snagged my hand in his, tucked it under his butt, and  _ sat on my hand.  _ “Now you don’t have your hand to eat with.”

I wagged the fingers of my left hand in front of him. “I can hold a fork just fine in this hand, thank you! I achieve the superpower of being ambidextrous when it comes to food, my friend.”

The waitress came back with mugs and little tubs of creamer then poured our coffee for us and took the rest of our order. We sipped in silence for a while and I let my eyes glance over at him as he scrolled through his phone. He was wearing one of the beanies I had given him years ago when we first became close friends. It was bright red, and I always joked about how it was the only color in his wardrobe with all the dark browns, navy blues, and blacks of the world. He said he’d never wear it because he had a black craft cult image to uphold, but he ended up wearing it the very next day. He finally noticed me staring after I pulled my now numb hand from under his ass.

“What?” He chuckled, tossing his phone into my bag.

“Nothing,” I took a small sip of my coffee and leaned back into the booth. “Just thinking about that beanie I got you.”

Baron absently tugged at the side of it with his hand and looked over at me with a wink. “I make this shit look good, right?”

I laughed and nodded, “you sure do. I should probably get you a pink one.”

He shrugged, “I’d still rock it and I’d love it just like I do this one.”

“You love it, Huh?”

“Yeah,” he said before gulping his coffee, then turned his body towards me as much as he could with his feet still propped up. “Wanna know something?”

I arched an eyebrow. “Do you already  _ have _ a pink beanie?”

“No,” he shook his head. “It  _ is _ a secret that I haven’t told anyone, though.”

I softly gasped and scooted closer, “Tell me, tell me!”

Baron pretended to look around the diner for people who would eavesdrop, then he leaned in close and whispered, “I love you.”

I could feel my heart beating inside of my throat and the way my skin suddenly felt like it got ten degrees hotter. My chest was tight and I couldn’t stop staring at him like a deer in the headlights.

“Oh.” _Oh?_ _Oh_ , was all I could say? I swear to _god_ —

He rolled his eyes at my response and then kissed me. Softly at first, testing the waters since I hadn’t responded. When I suddenly got my bearings back I pushed fervently against him into the kiss.

“ _ Fuck _ , I love you too. I love you so much.” I mumbled when we broke the kiss.

“Yeah, I know. You told me a few times.” His hand carded through my hair and he pecked my lips again. “You made me wait over a month to tell you, but your reaction was worth it.”

“You’re a huge  _ ass _ , I was half expecting you to shoot me a text about it, not take me out and make me feel all special and shit.”

“Yeah, well, you’re stuck with this ass now. Besides, I did say I like you with a full stomach and caffeine in you.” Baron laughed and only pulled away from me when our food was finally set down at the table. Our waitress, who was an older woman, softly cooed at the  _ “image of young love.” _

I erupted into a fit of giggles, watching as he took a syrup covered bite of pancakes and felt overwhelmed by the pleasant turn of events between us. I sat up straight, wrapped one arm around the broadness of his shoulders, and placed one hand on the side of his face to pull him into another sweet-tasting kiss.

“I think I can live being stuck with you.”

“Thank god, otherwise this lovin’ each other thing would’ve been real awkward.”

I snorted, “I hate you.”

“Sure,” he smirked, “but you love me more.”

”I think you love me the most.”

If my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me, I could swear there was a blush on Baron’s cheeks. “Yeah, maybe I do.”


End file.
